Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

केनैतत्स्थापितं लिंगं निर्मलं शंकरोद्भवम् । किं त्वं नृत्यसि गीतं च पुरोऽस्य प्रकरोषि च । मुनीनां युज्यते नैव यदेतत्तव चेष्टितम्

Transliteration

kenaitatsthāpitaṃ liṃgaṃ nirmalaṃ śaṃkarodbhavam | kiṃ tvaṃ nṛtyasi gītaṃ ca puro'sya prakaroṣi ca | munīnāṃ yujyate naiva yadetattava ceṣṭitam

Translation

ఈ నిర్మలమైన, శంకరుని నుండి ఉద్భవించిన లింగాన్ని ఎవరు స్థాపించారు? నీవు దీని ముందర ఎందుకు నర్తించి పాడుతున్నావు? ఇలాంటి ప్రవర్తన మునులకు ఏమాత్రం తగదు।

Word by Word

• kena: by whom
• kena: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसक-प्रयोग, तृतीया, एकवचन; प्रश्न: ‘by whom?’

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘this’ (liṅgam इति विशेषण)

• sthāpitam: installed, set up
• sthāpitam: Kriyā (Predicate notion/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (धातु) + caus. √sthāp (स्थापयति) → स्थापित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘has been स्थापित/installed’

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nirmalam: pure, spotless
• nirmalam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nirmala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (liṅgam इति विशेषण)

• śaṃkara-udbhavam: originating from Śaṅkara
• śaṃkara-udbhavam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक) + udbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘शंकरात् उद्भवम्’ (originating from Śaṅkara); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kim: why?
• kim: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रश्न (interrogative particle): ‘why?/what?’

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रयोग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• nṛtyasi: do you dance
• nṛtyasi: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nṛt (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• gītam: song, singing
• gītam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gīta (प्रातिपदिक; √gai → गीत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): ‘and’

• puraḥ: in front
• puraḥ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: puras (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘in front/before’

• asya: of this; of it
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसक-प्रयोग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• prakaroṣi: do you perform
• prakaroṣi: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + pra- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): ‘and’

• munīnām: of sages; for sages
• munīnām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• yujyate: is proper, is fitting
• yujyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yuj (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; भावे/कर्मणि-प्रयोग: ‘is fitting/suits’

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (negation particle)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Nipāta (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic particle): ‘indeed/just’

• yat: that which
• yat: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय: ‘that which’

• etat: this
• etat: Karma/Pratipādya (Correlative/प्रत्यय-संबन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘this’ (yat ... etat correlation)

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन

• ceṣṭitam: conduct, action
• ceṣṭitam: Karta-bhāva/Viṣaya (Topic/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √ceṣṭ (धातु) → चेष्टित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त-निष्पन्न-नाम (act/deed), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified questioner (contextual interlocutor; speaker not named in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: temple (liṅga-sthāna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stern ascetic questions a dancing devotee before a spotless liṅga: who installed it, why the singing and dancing, and whether such conduct suits a muni.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara
• Liṅga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames a tension between external ascetic decorum and expressive devotion, prompting clarification of dharmic appropriateness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse references a sacred liṅga within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya setting; the exact tīrtha name is not contained in this excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it questions devotional performance (nṛtya-gīta) in front of the liṅga as a matter of conduct.